Danish man given suspended prison term for distributing nude movie clips on Reddit

A Denmark-based man has been found guilty of sharing nude scenes from copyrighted films and television shows on the social media site Reddit.

According to a law enforcement report reviewed by BBC News, the anonymous individual posted 347 clips of nude scenes in a subreddit he managed, which were then viewed 4.2 million-plus times.

The country's authorities state he has been given a 7-month suspended sentence for copyright infringement.

Experts say the defendant was prosecuted under a seldom-invoked provision in Danish intellectual property legislation, with the judge finding that by removing the scenes out of their original context, the man had damaged the performers' "moral rights".

He has additionally been found guilty of sharing more than 25 TB of copyrighted data.

From March 2022 to May 2023, the user known as "KlammereFyr" on Reddit uploaded adult scenes featuring over 100 female performers.

He distributed them in the subreddit he was a moderator of.

According to the Danish copyright protection group The Rights Alliance (TRA), his subreddit had more than 6,000 subscribers and users were prompted to request excerpts of particular performers.

In 2023, campaigners reported the case to the police on behalf of the impacted artists, directors and producers, which led to the forum being closed down.

Andrea Vagn Jensen, among the actresses whose explicit content were shared in the group, explained to local media at the time she felt there was a difference between being seen naked in a movie and appearing on Reddit.

The actress stated the posts constituted "exploitation".

'An important message'

The man was detained in fall 2024 and admitted guilty to the charges recently.

In a statement following the verdict, TRA head Maria Fredenslund said the outcome sent an "significant" message "that infringements of artists' rights has repercussions".

The ruling is considered unique in Denmark for its application of the "moral rights" clause of the national copyright law, which specifies an creator's work cannot be used in a way which infringes upon their reputation.

Intellectual property expert a legal scholar informed the media the case was "unusual" for its emphasis on the damage to the integrity of an artist, rather than to them economically.

The extent to which the ruling could influence other countries is uncertain.

But she said there may be "more and more of these actions" in the future with the advancement of AI, where "the sanctity of one's creative output might be compromised much more easily".